Remind Me
by Salem Navy
Summary: Sequel to Everything Else Seems So Small (read that first). ""Everyone loves you, kid. I don't know what makes you think JJ wouldn't." After everything, Emily must find a way to put JJ back together, but what if their love isn't strong enough? What if she isn't enough to help pull JJ from the darkness? WARNING: Contains descriptions of rape, violence and... femslash smut.
1. It Was Tradition

**Title: Remind Me**

**Author: Salem Navy**

**Rating: M (see warnings in summary)**

**Pairing: Jennifer Jareau and Emily Prentiss _(God, I miss Jemily!)_  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except a car, a laptop and a dog. So obviously, these characters aren't mine.**

_**See end of chapter for long drawn out I'VE MISSED Y'ALL AND I'M SORRY I'M SLOW AT LIFE author's note.**_

_**XOXOX**_

* * *

_6 Months Later_

They'd only been doing this again for about three weeks, so in many ways, it was like something new all over again. She'd almost forgotten what it felt like to want someone this much; to need them like the very air you breathed. Every sensation was causing her knees to go weak as the touches continued to set her body aflame. And after today, an entire day and night of not being able to see each other because, as Garcia said, _it was tradition_, she couldn't take it anymore.

The trail of kisses that were left along the collarbone of her tanned skin made her groan, the rumble escaping from deep within her throat. Her fingers tangled into ebony hair as she devoured Emily's mouth with her own, nibbling on the older woman's bottom lip with her teeth. With today being what it was, she needed this. She'd never needed anything more than to feel Emily's skin against hers. They were committed, their relationship solidified and she couldn't run anymore. She didn't want to run anymore.

"God, Jennifer. Take it off, please," Emily begged as JJ's fingers trailed over the bare skin on her arms. She wanted out of this dress immediately. They both may have been dressed in white, but nothing about them was _pure_ anymore. They'd worshipped and pleasured each other's bodies since the very beginning of their relationship. Constantly battling against the urge to caress the other one's flesh or slide their tongue into the perfect awaiting mouth.

JJ couldn't resist the brunette's pleas, especially not with the way Emily's lean frame was grinding against her own. Her body pinned Emily's taller one to the door as her fingers danced along the hidden zipper on the side before grabbing it and pulling it down at an agonizingly slow pace.

The older woman whimpered with every new strip of exposed skin; the cool air causing goose bumps to appear as JJ's warm breath panted in her ear. She would never be to explain what this felt like, what it felt like to hold your _wife_ bound within your arms as you ground yourself against her thigh, the one that was currently so tightly wedged between your legs. No one would ever understand what it felt like to have those tiny hands grasping at your very scalp as you felt your _wedding_ dress fall to the floor. It would be impossible to describe the pleasure that overwhelmed your very senses when that same woman yanked you backwards so that you landed on top of her on the plush mattress, wrinkling her equally _white_ gown, before allowing a delicious moan to pour out of your mouth.

Just 5 hours earlier, JJ and Emily had stood in front of family and friends as they proclaimed their undying love for each other, _until death do us part_. The entire day had felt surreal for both of them; waking up in two separate cottages overlooking the lake, the sun shining through partially open curtains, knowing that this was the very sky they were going to be getting married under later that afternoon.

Rossi had smiled with delight as he walked Emily down the aisle. Hotch had carried a glint in his eye while officiating the ceremony. The brides' voices had both cracked with emotion as they delivered their vows. The water had shimmered beautifully as they slipped rings onto each other's fingers. Garcia had cried openly as she gave her maid-of-honor speech. Ashley had giggled excessively when Morgan asked her to dance, allowing him to rest one hand on her swollen belly while proclaiming that the kid better call him _Uncle_ Derek. Elizabeth had kissed Emily's cheek, trying to hide the tears in her eyes, when she told her daughter how proud she was of her. And both Emily and JJ had smiled slyly as they snuck off to their bedroom halfway through their reception because they couldn't stand to wait another moment before they were able to touch each other.

The two of them now lay in a mess of sheets on top of the bed, their sweaty naked skin sliding against the other's flesh as hands roamed between legs and over breasts.

This was always JJ's favorite part; the amount of time they spent working each other up, getting each other so hot and bothered that they were ready to explode before they even started. She loved listening to Emily's breath hitch every time the blonde would lick the shell of her ear. Arousal would rush through her whenever the older woman slid her hands across a pert nipple. This was a dance that they both knew very well and knowing that she would get to do this again and again for forever made her happier than she would ever be able to describe. Her chest was too small to contain the love she felt for Emily, her feelings, words and thoughts flowing out of her as they continued to consume one another. Moans, movements, caresses, sighs, tears, laughter, whimpers… it was all part of _their dance_.

"I love you," JJ keened as she felt two long digits slip inside of her, pumping in and out of her excruciatingly slowly.

This was Emily's favorite part. There was nothing she loved more than having her fingers enveloped by this beautiful woman's velvet walls; dragging animalistic sounds out of the normally composed blonde with every thrust, sounds that only she was allowed to hear.

Things hadn't always been like this. They'd spent months upon months barely talking to each other, much less touching each other, after everything JJ had been through. The relationship they fought so hard for had hung in the balance for entirely too long as they struggled to find one another again. Each day was a challenge and there were moments where they weren't sure they would make it _together_. There were times they'd even wondered if JJ would make it at all.

But that was all behind them now. They lived in a world where memories of what had happened with Hagin and Matthew rarely surfaced, a world where JJ was more at peace than she had felt in a long time. Of course, there were nights where the younger woman still battled with the nightmares or the insecurities that came along with being violated, tortured and almost… killed, but they were few and far between. And Emily was always there, right beside her, as JJ mourned the things that had been taken from her. Emily was there with a comforting arm around her shoulder as JJ sobbed her way through a rough day. Emily was there, placing delicate kisses in golden hair, after JJ finished screaming at her and instead broke down crying. Those moments still happened; they couldn't lie about that.

"Emily, I'm so… oh my… close." JJ's voice came out almost as a whine, her way of begging for release while her wife's sweat sheened body hovered above her. She pressed her lips against the soft column of the brunette's throat, pleasure coiling higher and higher inside of her, threatening to break the surface. Her teeth nipped at Emily's pulse point and left behind a mark that she knew would be visible tomorrow on alabaster skin.

Emily's breaths were shallow. She was panting in the smaller woman's ear when she felt nails dig into the skin of her back. "Wait for me, Jennifer. Almost… God, almost."

JJ simply nodded against the woman above her, suppressing a whimper as she felt Emily's slick heat grinding against her thigh. She knew how close they both were, that it wouldn't take much longer for both of them to come undone and come crashing down from the high _together_.

It was with a few more thrusts that JJ finally felt the release start, a slow burn beginning in the pit of her stomach that made her feel like she was flying. She pressed her mouth against Emily's in an attempt to quiet her moans as her muscles tensed, going rigid as the brunette glided against her one last time before her orgasm rushed through her.

"Jennifer," Emily cried, disconnecting her mouth from JJ's, pulling air into her lungs as her entire body was engulfed by a feeling of euphoria. "Holy fuck…" Her breath wisped through JJ's hair, a few blonde strands blowing softly before she rolled off of her wife with a huff.

"That was… yeah," JJ said, practically speechless. She flipped onto her side, curling against Emily and running her fingers through a mess of midnight tresses. "We did it." Her voice held an air of amazement and they both knew that JJ wasn't simply talking about sex. They had done it, they'd gotten married. After everything, they still managed to end up here, wrapped in each other's arms as a cool wind blew in from the open balcony doors.

"Aren't you going to close those?" Emily joked as she tugged on JJ's small body, urging her to climb underneath the blankets. "It was _your_ idea to open them after all."

JJ poked at the Emily's exposed side, causing the older woman to laugh and squirm, "That's only because _you_ kept saying how romantic it would be to be able to see the moon and apparently, neither of us are smart enough to open roll-up blinds."

Emily scoffed while running her fingers up and down JJ's spine. It still hadn't completely hit her yet. Wife, Jennifer Jareau was her wife. The first time she'd met this small petite blonde, she never would've imagined that this is where they'd end up years later, curled up in bed after a steamy round of love-making and married _to each other_. And it had been even more difficult to imagine a moment like this after they'd spent so much time fighting against both of their inner demons, as well as with each other. "This is…" Emily paused, trying to figure out how to put exactly was she was thinking into words. "This is…" She couldn't. It would always be indescribable. So instead of searching for the words, she turned her head slightly, pressing her mouth against JJ's and rolling them over so the blonde was underneath her once again.

"Is this how it's going to be, Agent Prentiss? Do you think you always need to be the top?" A wicked grin flashed across JJ's face before she quickly flipped them over, allowing herself to take control as her hand trailed down the brunette's taught stomach. "This whole thing is give and take, Emily," she whispered, her fingers already slipping through her wife's wetness, dipping inside her core. "All you've done is give for months, doing everything you can to build me up again and make me whole, but now it's my turn. I want to be around you and deep inside of you all at once. I want to give you back everything you've given me."

* * *

**_Oh goodness gracious my oh my! _**

**_Well, my lovelies, here we are again months later. I started Everything Else Seems So Small in December of 2011 and I've known since about four months after that story began that I would be starting this sequel six months later. So before you start freaking out and calling me some unsavory names, just know that I have this all planned out, know that it won't be six months later the whole time and that everything that happened between then and now will be explained... especially since I left y'all with that wonderfully awful cliff hanger._**

**_It took me awhile to get this story in gear, obviously, and I actually have five Chapter 1 drafts saved on my computer, but it just never felt right. No matter how many times I started Remind Me and wrote the vows and the wedding and the cute little moments with Henry, it just wasn't working and I wasn't happy with it. Then I was struck with the idea to just go ahead and start with a bang (literally). _**

**_I kinda just dove in head first. Sink or swim. Trepidation be damned because I have to be honest, I was so intimated by this story. I was, and am, monumentally afraid that I won't be able to do it justice which I find rather ironic. That being said, all of your reviews and thoughts will be greatly appreciated throughout this upcoming journey. Perhaps stroke my ego a little bit or tell me when it sucks, tell me when you have an idea or a thought or you just want to let me know that you're liking what you're reading._**

**_Reviews give me warm fuzzies and I love warm fuzzies! So leave one, if you're willing ;)_**

**_XOXOX_**

**_P.S. I'm going with shorter chapters this time around because I learned something very important, I do not do well with sitting down and trying to write a 4,000-5,000 word chapter (at least not anymore). _**


	2. Between Sleeping & Dreaming

**_some recently reminded me that life takes precedence over fanfiction. well, my life has been hectic but here's update, my lovelies._**

**_xoxoxo_**

* * *

It was too soon. They were all thinking it. Well, at least Emily was. After less than two weeks, JJ had proven stable enough to be transferred from Shands in Florida and flown to Washington Hospital. And now, just over one week later, she was being released to go home. She was breathing on her own, her vitals were stable, no infections and she'd even begun physical therapy to regain full use of her left arm. It was outstanding that JJ was healing as quickly as she was and Emily knew that she should be grateful because physically, her girlfriend was okay, alive.

Everything was just happening so fast.

"_I'm_ not ready," Emily sighed, a slow puff of cigarette smoke escaping her mouth along with her admittance; a habit she'd picked back up after JJ's third day in the hospital. She thought it was her secret, with no one knowing except for Reid, but they all just pretended not to notice.

The brunette was falling apart little by little, struggling more every day, every moment that passed with JJ barely speaking to her. Everyone tried their best to comfort Emily, reminding her that JJ didn't really speak to anyone. And it would work momentarily, until Will LaMontagne walked into a room and JJ's eyes would light up at the sight of him. So Emily simply smiles politely and excuses herself from the room, stepping outside to suck on the end of another cigarette.

"Come on, let's go back inside," Reid urged as he motioned to JJ's house where everyone was gathered to celebrate the blonde's return home.

"She doesn't want me in there and I don't have the energy to stand there smiling, pretending that she does," Emily said sourly.

Reid just nodded solemnly before making his way up the steps to the back door.

"Oh, and Reid…"

He stopped mid-step, returning his attention to the broken woman behind him.

"Don't let any of them come out here and try to give me a pep talk, okay? Especially Morgan. I can't listen to another one of his speeches about how we all really just need to be here for JJ now." She turns her head back around; looking out over the back yard, hearing Reid's fading footsteps behind her.

This past month had made Emily increasingly bitter and angry. She no longer cared whose feelings she hurt, especially not after JJ had basically ripped her heart out just to play with it. Sometimes it would be there, that glimmer of love in those sparkling blue eyes, but it was always fleeting, disappearing before Emily could even consider holding on to it.

The ache in her chest was constant, a hole left by JJ's absence. At night, her dreams were often of her girlfriend. Waking her up with memories of light kisses in golden hair, desperate moans, electric sweat-soaked skin and whispered _I love you_s. But then those dreams would be overtaken by nightmares; JJ crying, shouting, begging, and dying. And Emily would wake up breathless, choking back sobs so as not to wake the other woman in the room.

Because there was no room for Emily's nightmares there, in JJ's hospital room. Not when the younger woman would wake up whimpering or fighting or screaming herself. Those nights… how could Emily ever admit that a part of her would wish for them because on _those nights_ JJ would curl into the brunette, allowing Emily to wrap her in her arms as she cried her way through fitful dreams.

Being needed. Being loved. Just being there at all. It was like a breath of fresh air, a familiar scent cloaked in remembrances.

In those moments, during JJ's turmoil, Emily was again able to run her fingers through silky golden hair, to press her lips against tanned skin, to wrap her arms around the woman she loved. JJ's hell and distress was her oasis, and that causes more guilt within her than she knows how to explain.

Emily lets out an exasperated sigh as she finishes her cigarette, snubbing it out in the dirt so she can shove it in her pocket and flush it away later. She can't sit out on the back porch steps forever, even though she wants to because she knows that there will be an awkward tension surrounding her as soon as she rejoins her team inside. They don't really understand her anger, her resentment, her guilt, her pain. JJ went through all of this, not her. JJ needs everyone's support, not her. JJ is the one hurting and recovering, not her.

She's used to dealing with things internally. Compartmentalize. She's a Prentiss and that's all there is to it.

Her face is a mask, unreadable, when she walks through the door. She can feel a few sets of eyes on her, knowing without looking that one of them belongs to Reid. Always Reid, always looking but not asking. Silently supportive. Not pushing. And it's comforting that someone knows, that someone just gets it.

But even though she can feel his stare, she doesn't glance up, choosing instead to pour herself a glass of wine and start working on the dishes.

From across the room, JJ notices her. She's always aware of Emily's presence. Scared of it. Drawn to it. Her girlfriend. The moment Emily walks into a room, JJ knows it; whether she's enraptured by midnight hair or simply breathing her in as she walks by.

Her nightmares, when she wakes up and Emily's holding her again, that's when she feels whole. But she can't admit that outside of the dark little world they'd created, a place between sleeping and dreaming.

In the light of day, it all scares her. The closeness. The touching. The prying eyes. They're always looking at her, staring… like they're searching for cracks, chinks in her armor. Wondering if she's broken completely.

The night ends uneventfully. Emily had spent most of the evening avoiding the living room where their team and JJ's family had congregated, laughing and drinking, enjoying the feeling of having their golden girl back home. They'd gotten really good at ignoring the elephant in the room. They'd avert their eyes when JJ would wince, trying to give her privacy in her moments of discomfort. They'd make a few extra jokes when they noticed tears in her eyes. They'd gesture a little more with their hands so they could ignore the urge they had to touch her.

They weren't themselves, and both women equally hated it and were grateful for it.

Emily gives a last wave to Will as he walks out the door with a sleeping Henry before turning around to see her girlfriend half asleep in her favorite chair. The day had taken a toll on JJ; it was evident on her features. But there was something about her that also seemed more peaceful, and whether it is the relief of finally being out of the hospital or the comfortable afterglow that came with being surrounded by family, Emily can't be sure.

"Would you like me to help you upstairs?" Two blue eyes open a little wider at Emily's question.

They'd discussed moving many of JJ's things downstairs to the guest room until she was stronger, ready, but the blonde had ultimately decided against it. Not wanting to upset her life any more than necessary.

"No, I think I can manage. Thank you though… for offering," JJ replies, already pushing herself up out of the chair, careful not to put too much pressure on her left arm.

Emily tries not to let the disappointment show on her face, but JJ catches it and although she wishes it didn't, it instantly makes her angry.

"I'm allowed to do things on my own. I'm not completely helpless and incompetent."

"I know that," Emily says, her eyes downcast, her face a mixture of hurt and her own underlying fury.

"Try not to smell like cigarettes when you come to bed. It's disgusting." JJ's voice is clipped and harsh as she ascends the stairs.

And Emily is already lighting a cigarette as she walks out the back door, if only for no other reason than to piss her girlfriend off.

Their anger is misdirected and they both know it, but for now, all they can do is hope; both secretly waiting for that moment in the darkness, where they find each other, that place between sleep and awake.

* * *

**_Let's just start this off with me screaming, shall we... GAH Y'ALL ARE JUST FLIPPING AMAZING! The welcome back (over two months ago) was overwhelming and outstanding, and I thank each of you for your patience. And your reviews. And just for reading the stuff I write. It's a... no words. I fucking love you people and you make my heart swell! So thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU._**

**_Down to the nitty-gritty, sorry for the delay. Life throws curve balls and I keep getting hit by them, but just know that even when I'm not writing and updating, I'm constantly thinking about writing and updating. I can't promise that it's going to be all smooth sailing and quick updates, especially not with the summer that is ahead of me. BUSY BUSY BUSY. So if my update speed is too slow for you and is going to frustrate you, then just wait until this whole thing is finished. You don't need to send me reviews reminding me that I need to update. I PROMISE YOU I know. Better than anyone. _**

**_As for the direction of this story, it's gonna be rough y'all! And you're probably going to hate JJ at some point. And Emily at some point. And their poor lives are going to be hell. I outlined this story to be about 25 chapters (of course, that could change), but most of them aren't happy fluff. So if that doesn't sit well with you, don't read it. _**

**_ANGST ANGER FIGHTING YELLING SCREAMING DEATH NIGHTMARES HEALING... that is all to come. So don't say that I didn't warn you._**

**_Oh, and I just had to skip all the hospital nonsense in the beginning. I don't know if she's being let out too soon and I couldn't bring myself to talk about her three week stint in a hospital bed. Trust me, I'm not forgetting what she's been through and that she was injured, very badly. I just didn't want it here. Period._**

**_Someone also asked me if I would be inserting parts of their married life in here and I did consider it, but in the end, no. I don't think I'll be doing that because I realized that I would then be balancing two separate story lines and it made my brain hurt. Everything from here until Chapter 25 is pre-wedding. I just inserted that there because I figured y'all would need some happy before the following 23 chapters of angst. Okey dokey, smokey?_**

**_I love y'all. You're tremendously beautiful fucking people. _**

**_Leave a review if you're willing!_**


End file.
